Obama Taps Foxx for DOT

This story appears in the May 6 print edition of Transport Topics.

President Obama last week selected Anthony Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., as the next secretary of transportation.

During his four years as mayor of North Carolina’s largest city, Foxx was involved in several transportation projects, including breaking ground on a new streetcar system, expanding its airport and planning an extension of its light-rail system.

“I know Anthony’s experience will make him an outstanding transportation secretary,” Obama said at a White House press conference announcing his pick April 29.

If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would replace Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman who had represented Peoria, Ill. LaHood announced earlier this year that he would leave the post.

The 42-year-old Foxx, a former corporate lawyer, is the first Democrat to serve as Charlotte’s mayor in 22 years.

He first rose to national prominence last year during an address at the Democratic National Convention, which he helped steer to Charlotte.

Foxx had announced in April that he would not seek a third, two-year term, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.

The DOT post is one of the last filled by Obama, who sources said had considered several other candidates — including Deborah Hersman, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — before selecting Foxx.

In prepared remarks last week, Foxx emphasized that he would seek bipartisan policies.

“There is no such thing as a Democratic or Republican road, bridge, port, airfield or rail system,” Foxx said. “We must work together across party lines to enhance this nation’s infrastructure.”

The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave the state of America’s infrastructure a grade of D+ because of “a significant backlog of overdue maintenance.”

President Obama’s 2014 budget proposal contains a one-time boost of $27 billion for “critical highway infrastructure” and cross-border roads to augment the $41 billion Congress already has authorized for highways next year. The president also said he wants Congress to increase the nation’s annual spending commitment to highways and public transit by 25% in 2015.

American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said he looked forward to working with Foxx.

“As mayor of a large city, Mayor Foxx dealt with very similar challenges with regard to transportation issues that I did when I was governor — chiefly responding to the demands of constituents and developing a multimodal transportation network,” said Graves, who was governor of Kansas from 1995 to 2003.

When Foxx takes his new position, he will become part of a federal government that is searching for a new way to fund infrastructure.

In recent years, the debate has turned into a “logjam,” with no ideas for new funds coming from Congress or the Obama administration, said Marcia Hale, president of advocacy group Build America’s Future.

“Transportation’s always been very bipartisan, and it’s broken down. So he’s going to have to deal with that,” Hale told Transport Topics.

MAP-21, the current transportation funding law, will expire in October 2014, presenting a challenge and opportunity for Foxx, she said. “I think that’s his biggest, greatest challenge,” Hale said. But as the economy recovers, she predicted political focus will shift from the budget deficit, which could help Foxx advocate for transportation spending.

Gene Conti, who worked closely with Foxx when Conti was North Carolina’s transportation secretary from 2009 to earlier this year, said Foxx was up to leading DOT.

“I’ve been impressed with his intelligence, with how he approaches challenges, trying to seek collaborative kinds of solutions, and I’m just very optimistic about his tenure,” Conti said.

In addition to the airport and transit projects Obama mentioned, Conti said, Foxx was instrumental in some Charlotte-area highway projects, such as completing the city’s outer beltway, widening Interstate 85 and replacing a major I-85 bridge north of the city that caused a major bottleneck.

Foxx has worked with Norfolk Southern Railway to build a new intermodal freight facility on the grounds of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a project Conti called “revolutionary.” It broke ground last year, and Norfolk Southern Railway expects to complete it next year.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association was optimistic about working with Foxx.

“Small businesses have faced a significant increase in costly regulatory mandates that, in our view, are the wrong way to meet our highway safety challenges,” Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “The nomination of Mayor Foxx should be an opportunity for a fresh look at questionable regulatory initiatives.”

Obama thanked LaHood at the press conference for serving as secretary since 2009.

And LaHood reflected fondly on his time at DOT, saying that Obama’s push to fund high-speed rail, reduce distracted driving and make motor vehicles more efficient will be part of his legacy.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said he would schedule a confirmation hearing for Foxx as soon as possible.